It's A Wonderful Dark Angel Life
by Star24
Summary: The title says it all. Inspired by the movie It's A Wonderful Life. Logan learns exactly what he has.


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Disclaimer: Don't own them, don't profit from them but have lots of fun playing with them.

A/N: This is a response to a fic project on fan forum. A Dark Angel version of the classic Jimmy Stewart movie "It's A Wonderful Life". Hope you enjoy – a little holiday treat.

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Dedicated to all my wonderful Eye Spy friends there - sharing the show with them makes it so much more fun!

Logan sat in his chair and stared down at the loaded gun in his hand. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as it had since Max had brought him the news about Adrianna Vertes. He had tried to tell himself not to pin too much faith on the doctor, but he hadn't been able to suppress the leap of hope that he had felt at her words the day before "You're on your way back." His sleep had been filled with glittering dreams, dreams of him walking again, for good this time; dreams of him standing in front of Max, taking her in his arms, dancing with her, kissing her. Now those dreams were shattered like pieces of crystal, lying in shards at his feet. 

As he slowly raised the gun to his head Logan felt like he was wrapped in a soft blanket of fog. The world around him had faded away behind a curtain of gray. The outside sounds of his computers, softly humming away broken by the occasional beeping alert of one program or the other were gone, lost in the thick mist that enveloped him. Ever so slowly he tightened his finger on the trigger until there was a sudden explosion of noise and the world around him completely vanished into an impenetrable blackness.

"Logan. Logan. Logan listen to me. Wake up Logan…" The voice was warm and female and completely annoying. Logan slowly focused his eyes to the growing brightness and found himself standing in his computer room looking down at…himself. Or at least what was left of him. His body was slumped over his computer desk and blood was everywhere, pooling thick and red. He took a breath at the carnage before him and then heard the voice again.

"Nice mess you made. You do realize that Max is going to be the one to find this don't you?"

Logan turned to look at the possessor of the voice. She was small, not much taller than Max but not quite as athletically built, with a cap of light blonde hair and green eyes. Those eyes were presently glaring at him disapproval apparent. 

"What? Who are you? Why am I standing here while I'm… lying there?" His confusion was evident.

"What's lying there is your body. What's standing here is, well I guess you could call it your soul. I never have quite managed to keep up with all of your superstitions and beliefs. Yeah, soul will do." Logan was even more confused by her words.

"So I'm dead, right?" She looked at him as if he was a not too bright child.

"Pumping a 9mm slug into your brain at close range pretty much guarantees that."

"So why am I here? I don't believe in all that religion stuff. I mean my mom used to say there was a higher power but I dunno, I guess I stopped believing in that after my parents…well after. " 

She sighed. "So cause you don't believe means something doesn't exist?" She shrugged and continued. "Look I'd love to stand here and discuss theology and deism all day with you but I honestly don't have the time. "

"So what are you here for then? To escort me to heaven or hell as the case may be?" he asked with a return to his characteristic sarcasm.

"Do I look like an escort? Geez. Give me some credit. No I'm a provisional angel."

"What the hell is a provisional angel?" Logan shook his head unable to believe he was actually having this conversation. 

"I kind of screwed up my last assignment so I got demoted. Means I have to redeem myself with a tough case and lucky me, I got you." Logan looked at her insulted by her attitude.

"So look I didn't ask for you. Just leave me be and send my escort or whatever and go back to being an angel."

"I wish." At that moment there was the sound of a door opening and a voice calling out.

"Logan….Logan!?" Logan jumped guiltily. It was Max. Before she could enter the room the girl muttered a curse and quickly made some motions with her hands. Grabbing Logan's arm she pulled him along with her out of the room. There frozen in his hallway stood Max, motionless. Before Logan could react the girl made a new motion and they were standing on the street outside of his building.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

"It's simple. I've been sent to show you what your world would be if you had never been born. Once you see that you decide if you still want to blow yourself away. If you do, I flubbed it again and I never make angel rank. If you don't, I get to be angel, go to the Christmas party with the rest of them and life goes on, la de da." She motioned again and they were standing outside of an apartment building he didn't recognize. 

As he watched a woman and young girl emerged. He choked back an exclamation. "That's Lauren Braganza and Sophie, but they left town." The girl just watched him patiently. Lauren and Sophie walked to the corner waiting for an oncoming SUV to pass them by before crossing. Instead as it drew level with them the window rolled down and the ugly snout of a gun poked out. Before Logan could move gunfire rang out and Lauren and Sophie lay in a pool of blood on the sidewalk, unmoving.

"What? But they left the country. Why did they come back?" 

"Logan, they never left. You weren't here to find Lauren and help her. Instead she went to the police and you just saw the result."

As Logan processed that information she motioned again and he found himself standing with her in an alleyway. It was night and the alley was dark and rank smelling. As he watched a door opened. The girl gave him a push and they entered behind a furtive man. Inside it was obvious it was a brothel in an Asian country. The patrons were all Asian but the girls were young, in their early teens, and all appeared to be American. They were thin and bedraggled and obviously not well treated. 

"Recognize any of them?" the girl asked.

"No. Should I?"

"The cargo plane, Gerhard Bronck?" 

"But Max stopped that."

"Max never got involved with that. Not without you around to drag her into it. There was no one to help these girls. By the way Bronck is still running his scheme. Every week he sends more girls like these over here. Guy's living real well." 

Logan just looked at her. "So what? Here's where I say 'Wow what a benefit to the world I am' and you make it all better? So I saved a few people. What about all the ones I couldn't save? Nathan Herrero died because of my meddling, my parents are gone, Peter my bodyguard died because of the Sonrisa mess. I probably killed as many as I saved. And Max? Max is better off without me, without a cripple to hold her back and probably get her killed or captured by Manticore."

"They told me you were stubborn but I didn't believe them. Okay, time for the big guns then." In a moment Logan found himself standing in what appeared to be a military facility. The girl led him down a hallway and into an office. There behind the desk sat a woman with short blonde hair. In front of her dressed in military fatigues stood…Max.

"Report 452." The woman rapped out. Max stood up straighter and saluted.

"Ma'am yes ma'am. Mission completed successfully ma'am. Subject Hannah Secova terminated at 0900 hours today." Logan stared in shock. Max's eyes were not the eyes of the girl he knew. They were cold and emotionless, dead. He shivered, as she appeared to gaze directly at him. They were the eyes of a machine. A killing machine.

"Excellent 452. She was a traitor to the project and a possible loose end. Now here, this is your next assignment." Logan suddenly found himself standing behind Max and read the file the woman handed her over her shoulder. 

Assignment: Apprehend X5 –599. Male. Escaped facility 2009. Located in Portland Oregon possibly with another escapee. Orders are to bring in alive if possible but if not termination authorized. 

"Yes Ma'am." Max saluted and left the room. Logan blinked and found himself standing back in his computer room, his dead body in front of him.

"Okay." the girl said. 

"Okay what?"

"I'm out of here. Your escort will arrive shortly. Enjoy your trip." 

"But Max. Zack, what…"

"Lydecker captured her a while ago. Remember Hannah? Max found her on her own but without you to run interference she walked right into Lydeckers trap. She's been reprogrammed and is now one of Manticore's star performers. She'll find Zack and kill him because you know he's not going back. Hey look she's content. She's what they made her, doesn't know anything different. Probably better off."

As she spoke Logan saw images whirling through his mind. Images of dark brown eyes, warm with life and laughter, images of tangled brown hair falling in curls around a beautiful face. He felt the warmth of her arms thrown around him in gratitude; holding him close as they swung crazily off the roof of a building. He tasted her lips on his, sweet and soft. Her laughter rang in his ears. Turning he saw he was alone in the room. 

"NO." the word was a harsh cry. "Come back. You win. I can't let them do that to her. "Please come back." He heard the sound of footsteps and Max's frantic voice calling out his name.

"Logan!" Then suddenly he was no longer standing. He was in his chair outside his apartment. The door was open and he rolled himself in only to have Max run to him and throw her arms around him. Still dazed he hugged her back as a feeling of warmth seemed to run through his veins, even reaching to his paralyzed legs.

"Logan, I was so worried…I saw the ambulance…" she was babbling at him her sentences disjointed and she clung to him tightly.

"It's okay." he heard himself saying as he gently stroked her hair. And as he did he swore he heard another voice, laughter underlying it, singing softly "O bla di O bla da life goes on bra…la la la la life goes on." 

_Hope you enjoyed. Happy Holidays !_

The song fragment at the end is courtesy of the Beatles – for some reason that song was going through my head as I wrote this.


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